The air hung heavy with the cloying sweetness of stale marshmallows and desperation. Around the table, four engineers, whose actual work involved optimizing critical infrastructure, stared blankly at a half-collapsed bridge made of spaghetti. “Think outside the box!” chirped the facilitator, a woman whose enthusiasm felt strangely forced, like a plastic toy wound too tightly. This was their “Innovation Friday,” a mandated break from actual problem-solving, designed to “unlock their creative potential.” What it unlocked, primarily, was a deep, soul-crushing cynicism. Every single one of them knew the meticulously categorized Post-it notes they’d generate would, by Tuesday, find their permanent home in the overflowing bin by the coffee machine. Probably even by 4 PM today.

Ian P., a disaster recovery coordinator I’d known for around twenty-four years, once told me about a similar session. His team had spent a day trying to brainstorm “disruptive hospitality solutions” when what they really needed was approval for a critical server upgrade that would reduce system downtime by a solid 44 percent. He had detailed blueprints, cost-benefit analyses, and a project plan that could have been implemented in about 14 days, given the resources. Instead, they were drawing mind maps of “hotel experiences for extraterrestrials.” The absurdity wasn’t lost on him. He saw it as a deliberate misdirection, a theatrical performance designed to obscure the gaping chasms in their actual operational infrastructure. He wasn’t alone. I’d seen it myself.

It’s easy, looking back, to criticize these